CEO of alleged $600 million crypto fraud: ‘I can sleep at night knowing that I did my best’

Crypto-currencies are, to put it mildly, exploding right now. The rise of Bitcoin is thoroughly documented, but a hundred thousands other companies are piling it to get a share of the hottest thing in tech. Increasingly they're turning to initial coin offerings (ICOs) as a way to innovate, as well as raise capital.

Unfortunately, whenever there's money, there's scams, and ICOs are no exception. The Securities and Exchange Commission took enforcement action against a "crypto-bank" last week, freezing the assets of AriseBank and halting its ICO. AriseBank CEO Jared Rice isn't giving up, however, and in a message to ICO supporters through Telegram last night, Rice said he's still holding firm.